Jailed Hong Kong activist gets 3 extra days in prison for unapproved complaint letter
- West Kowloon Court describes Owen Chow’s attempt to smuggle unapproved letter to watchdog through lawyer as ‘reckless and foolish’
A jailed Hong Kong opposition activist has been handed three additional days behind bars for arranging the unapproved delivery of a complaint letter against prison authorities.
Chow, 27, explained in a mitigation letter that the offence originated from his lack of faith in the Correctional Services Department, citing an occasion where prison officers had allegedly withheld his legal correspondence without good reason.
But Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei brushed aside concerns that the activist’s letter to the Office of the Ombudsman, a watchdog that focuses on public administration concerns, would have been withheld by the department.
She noted that the law stipulated it was a prisoner’s right to file complaints against authorities.
“Without a doubt, the first defendant’s concerns arose from his personal experience and the subjective views he had over it,” she said.